Number 11 Kevin Smith
In the spring of 2021, a British expat drowned at a cove on the island of Ibiza,
while practicing underwater photography. Personal trainer Kevin Smith had been living on the
Balearic Island for nearly two years, a period in which he’d struggled with lockdown restrictions
as they prevented him from doing the outdoor activities that he loved. Once they were lifted,
35-year-old Smith was free to pursue what friends later described as his “dream life”. He and
a companion were swimming at Punta Galera, an old stone quarry popular for snorkeling,
sunset viewing and cliff jumping. Smith got into difficulty while photographing the marine wildlife
and was pulled from the water unconscious. Emergency services attempted CPR at the scene but
he was pronounced dead. The fundraiser launched by his family, aimed at covering the transportation
of his body home amid travel restrictions, reportedly reached its target goal within 5 hours.
Number 10 Boating Tragedy in Indonesia
In May of 2021, nine people drowned and several others had to be rescued from the ocean,
after they’d inadvertently caused the capsizing of the boat in which they were taking a tour,
off the coast of Java. According to Central Java Police Chief, Ahmad Lufti, the primary factor of
the tragedy was “overcapacity”. The boat began to overturn as 20 passengers suddenly moved to
its right side for a group photo. Only eleven of them survived the capsizing. Seven were declared
dead in the immediate aftermath and the bodies of two others, initially declared missing, were found
the following day. An investigation was launched into the incident to determine if negligence,
on part of the tour boat’s operators, had played a factor. Preliminary findings indicated that it
may well have been the case when it was revealed that the vessel had been helmed by a 13-year-old.
Number 9 Dean Steele In the spring of 2017,
a Scottish tourist was fatally struck by a car
while taking photos on a German highway. As part of a birthday weekend celebration,
22-year-old Dean Steele and two of his friends were visiting the country to watch a soccer match.
They’d stayed in Hamburg for the night and, the following morning, were in a highway rest area,
near the town of Gudow. They made their way onto the central crash barrier, in the middle of the
A24 highway. They’d taken a significant risk, particularly since the autobahn is well-known
for its lack of speed restrictions. Steele was reportedly standing in the road, taking photos
with his cellphone, when he was hit by an Audi A6. He was killed instantly. The driver and Steele’s
companions were unhurt but had to be treated for shock at the scene. A spokesman for German
police told a media outlet that Steele’s friends were “clearly drunk” and unfit for interrogation.
The claim was disputed by Steele’s family and a fundraiser was launched to help get his body home.
Number 8 Du
On March the 17th of 2017, a Chinese man, identified by his surname as Du, tumbled
down the side of a cliff while hanging from its edge for a photo. The incident happened at Jigong
Mountain in Chongqing city. At first, Du tried maneuvering his body into a “human flag” pose,
only using his arms to anchor himself to the rocky outcrop. When that didn’t work, he grabbed
onto the cliff’s edge, on the other side, which extended over a steep drop. A video of the stunt,
which subsequently became viral on social media, captured the moment that Du lost his grip,
followed by the panic-stricken screams of his companions. He was extremely fortunate not to
have broken his neck or a limb and survived the fall with only some scrapes and bruises.
As the video was discussed by hundreds of users on the country’s Weibo platform, a number of comments
were critical of the risks he’d taken, one of them noting “Will the photo be used at his funeral?”
Number 7 Kathryn Mary Carlisle In 2012, a photography teacher from Sacramento,
California, was killed in a train accident, near the high school where she taught. Kathryn Mary
Carlisle, aged 52, was beloved by hundreds of students at the St. Francis all-girl catholic
high school. One Saturday, the mother-of-three was on the tracks, near the St. Francis campus,
photographing an oncoming train. It’s believed that Carlisle didn’t hear that a second train,
travelling in the opposite direction, was approaching her from behind. She was struck
by it and killed on the spot. The following Monday classes were cancelled and the school
organized a memorial service for Carlisle, attended by teachers, students and parents.
Number 6 Sophia Cheung
In July of 2021, a woman fell to her death, at a scenic spot in Hong Kong, while attempting to take
a selfie on the edge of a waterfall. 32-year-old Sophia Cheung had previously posted daredevil
photos to her Instagram, which had close to 40,000 followers. The images included her sitting,
doing yoga poses or hanging from the edges of cliffs overlooking dizzying drops. While
at the Ha Pak Lai Park, which she was visiting with several of her friends,
Cheung tried to take a photo on a waterfall edge at the Tsing Dai stream. Unfortunately,
she lost her footing on the slippery rocks and fell into the pool below, which was roughly
16 feet deep. Cheung was taken to a local hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Number 5 Carmen Greenway
On August the 18th of 2017, moments after taking a selfie, a woman suffered a devastating bicycling
accident in central London. 41-year-old Carmen Greenway, originally from New Zealand,
had had dinner with a group of friends. She was riding her bike in front of them while taking the
selfie, meaning that she only had one hand on the handlebars. Greenway, who wasn’t wearing a helmet,
hit a bumpy patch of road and fell off her bike, hitting her head on the pavement. Her
friends rushed to her side and found that she was completely unconscious. She came to, after
a while, and reportedly became highly aggressive, shouting that she wanted to go home as blood was
pouring from one of her ears. The behavior was uncharacteristic of Greenway and her friends,
worried about her condition, had to pin her down as they waited for an ambulance. At the hospital,
doctors discovered that the woman had suffered a fractured skull. Six days after the accident,
the mother-of-two died of a heart attack, brought about by complications of her head injury.
Number 4 Jia Lijun & Duan In May of 2016, at the Xixiakou Wildlife Park, in
north-east China, two men were killed by a walrus after one of them tried to snap a selfie with it.
According to one of his friends, businessman Jia Lijun, who’d travelled alone to the park, was very
excited about meeting the powerful animal. He’d been capturing photos as well as videos and had
been sending them to his friends. Lijun’s back was turned to the walrus as he tried taking a selfie.
It was then that the animal clung to him from behind and dragged him into the pool. Duan, the
walrus’ longtime trainer, first tried using bamboo sticks in an effort to rescue Lijun. When it
didn’t work, he jumped into the pool. The walrus released Lijun and, before long, Duan also found
himself trapped in the animal’s inescapable grip. Both men drowned before they could be rescued.
The zoo, which reportedly paid over $100,000 in compensation to Lijun’s family, was criticized
on local social media platforms for not having a barrier between the pool and the visitors.
Number 3 Olesya Suspitsyna
In April of 2020, Kazakh woman Olesya Suspitsyna plummeted to her death from a
cliff in the tourist city of Antalya, Turkey. 31-year-old Suspitsyna and a female friend,
whose identity wasn’t released, were taking a walk to celebrate the recent lifting of pandemic
lockdown restrictions. They’d arrived at Duden Park, a spot known for its scenic waterfalls.
For five years Suspitsyna had worked as a guide in Antalya and, on her social media, had always
expressed feelings of admirations towards Turkey’s natural beauty, referring to it as her “paradise”.
During the walk, she wanted to get a photo with the landmark waterfalls in the background.
She climbed over a safety fence and started posing in front of her friend. At one point,
Suspitsyna slipped on the grass and went over the cliff’s edge, plummeting from an estimated
height of 115 feet. To put her terrifying drop into perspective, it would be like falling from
halfway up a Giant Sequoia tree. Her lifeless body was later pulled from the water by local rescuers.
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Number 2 Jayaprakash Bezbaruah
In 2007, an Indian man was gruesomely mauled by tigers at a zoo in Guwahati,
in the northeastern part of the country. According to local media reports, 50-year-old Jayaprakash
Bezbaruah had jumped a security barrier in order to reach the Bengal tiger sanctuary
and get a closer picture of the felines. Bezbaruah extended his left arm inside the cage where a male
and female tiger, Govardhan and Divya, were housed. With blinding speed, the female clamped
its jaws on the man’s limb. As Bezbaruah shouted and tried to raise the alarm, the male bit into
his arm as well and the two beasts tore it off at the shoulder. His wife and two children could
only watch in horror as he writhed in pain. His head was also slammed into the bars as
the tigers pulled on his body. Bezbaruah was taken to a local hospital but died en route,
due to severe blood loss. Throughout the zoo’s operating history there had been two other
incidents of tiger-related deaths but both had been instances of people that had jumped in the
enclosure in a bid to end their lives. Contrasting those cases, Bezbaruah’s death had been the
result of him disregarding the safety measures while trying to get the perfect holiday photo.
Number 1 Sharn Iona Hughes In November of 2020, a Welsh woman was hit by
car while trying to capture images of a castle, in Abergele, which was used to film the reality show
“I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here”. 58-year-old Sharn Iona Hughes had travelled
10 miles from her home to photograph the lights at Gwrych Castle. Her family later confirmed that she
was hoping to send the images to a friend. Hughes was on Abergele Road, alongside her husband,
at around 5 pm. She’d just gotten out of the car, at which point she was struck by a Volvo.
The charity volunteer was pronounced dead from multiple traumatic injuries.
It’s been reported that fans would regularly gather at the spot where the accident occurred.
In the tragedy’s aftermath, the speed limit on the road was reportedly reduced to half.
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